Public consultations are rarely the hottest topic in town. They do not trend on social media, dominate dinner conversations or inspire long queues outside government offices. Many people wrongly assume that decision-making falls into officeholders’ purview, viewing public consultation merely as an administrative ritual.

That is precisely why Hong Kong’s first five-year development plan, which on Monday entered a two-month public consultation that will run through Aug 14, deserves attention. It is not simply another government exercise. It is an invitation to decide what kind of city Hong Kong wants to become before those choices are translated into budgets, legislation and construction projects.

For years, Hong Kong has been remarkably good at managing the present while leaving the future to sort itself out. Annual Policy Addresses announce new initiatives. Budgets distribute resources. Departments solve immediate problems. Yet the city has rarely operated with a comprehensive medium-term road map that connects housing, innovation, healthcare, education and economic development into one coherent strategy.

That approach worked when global conditions were relatively stable and Hong Kong enjoyed an almost automatic competitive advantage. Those days are gone.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping industries. Supply chains are shifting. Regional cities are competing aggressively for talent and investment. Economic transformation is happening faster than political debate. A city that relies entirely on reacting to events risks discovering that everyone else has already moved ahead. That is why the significance of this consultation extends well beyond government planning.

Many residents hear the phrase “five-year plan” and immediately associate it with top-down policymaking. Ironically, the consultation offers exactly the opposite opportunity. It invites the public to influence priorities before they become policy.

The issues under discussion are hardly abstract.

Participating does not require producing a 100-page policy report. It can be as simple as asking whether proposed priorities reflect the city’s most urgent needs, whether enough attention is being paid to young people, whether innovation spending is matched by talent development, or whether eldercare deserves greater emphasis

Housing policy will shape whether young families can realistically own a home. Investment in the Northern Metropolis will determine where future jobs and industries emerge. Support for artificial intelligence, life sciences and advanced manufacturing will influence whether university graduates find opportunities in Hong Kong or somewhere else. Healthcare reform and elderly services will affect millions of residents as the population continues to age.

These are not distant-policy papers. They are decisions that will eventually determine commutes, careers, neighborhoods, and retirement plans.

The consultation also presents an opportunity to rethink how Hong Kong governs itself.

For decades, the city’s administrative culture has excelled at managing annual cycles. Departments complete assigned tasks, budgets are reviewed yearly and success is often measured by procedural compliance. A five-year strategy requires something different. It demands continuity, coordination and willingness to judge policies by outcomes rather than paperwork. That may sound like a technical adjustment, but it represents a fundamental shift in governance.

Housing cannot be separated from transport. Innovation cannot be separated from education, immigration and capital markets. Healthcare reform depends on technology, manpower and community services. The biggest challenges no longer fit neatly inside individual government departments.

A long-term plan will succeed only if officials learn to work across traditional boundaries, and if clear accountability follows equally long timelines. Without measurable milestones and transparent reporting, even the most ambitious vision risks becoming another glossy publication that sits untouched on office shelves.

The public also has responsibilities.

Citizens often complain that policymaking is disconnected from everyday realities. Governments, in turn, frequently struggle to balance competing interests and receive criticism from every direction. Consultation is the moment when that gap can narrow.

Participating does not require producing a 100-page policy report. It can be as simple as asking whether proposed priorities reflect the city’s most urgent needs, whether enough attention is being paid to young people, whether innovation spending is matched by talent development, or whether eldercare deserves greater emphasis.

The quality of a long-term strategy depends not only on the expertise of officials but also on the breadth of perspectives it receives.

There is another reason this consultation matters.

Cities that thrive rarely stumble into success. They make deliberate choices about infrastructure, industries, education and public investment years before the benefits become visible. Singapore, Shenzhen, and many other regional competitors are pursuing long-term strategies with remarkable consistency. Hong Kong does not need to copy anyone else’s model, but it does need a coherent direction that reflects its own strengths while adapting to a changing world.

The consultation is therefore about more than a government document. It is about whether Hong Kong can move beyond governing one year at a time and start thinking in terms of the next generation.

Most public consultations arrive quietly and disappear even more quietly. This one should not.

Hong Kong often complains that it spends too much time reacting and too little time planning. Over the next two months, residents have a chance to influence a road map that could shape where homes are built, which industries receive support, how public money is invested, and what opportunities today’s students will inherit.

The future will be shaped either by the people who participate or by those who assume someone else will.

The author is chairman of the Asia MarTech Society and sits on the advisory boards of several professional organizations, including two universities.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.